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Bottled Water Contaminated*

'High Levels' of Bacteria Found in Bottled Water

Mon Nov 1, 2004 01:33 PM ET

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled mineral water, generally considered purer
than tap water, is often contaminated with bacteria and fungi, a Dutch researcher
warned Monday.

"Hospital water is increasingly accepted as a source for pathogens," Dr.
Rocus R. Klont commented to Reuters Health. Consequently, patients with
compromised immune systems "often receive bottled mineral water under the
assumption that it is safer than tap water," the investigator added at a
meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Washington, DC.

To evaluate the risk of infection from bottled water, Klont, from the University
Medical Center Nijmegen, and colleagues looked for bacterial and fungal
contamination in 68 commercial mineral waters, one tap water, and one water
sample from a natural well. The samples came from nine European and seven
non-European countries.

Overall, 40 percent of all samples showed evidence of contamination
with either bacteria or fungi. Bacteria could be grown in lab cultures from
21 samples.

"These findings indicate that the general perception that bottled water is
safe and clean is not true," Klont noted.

"The risk of disease to healthy individuals may be limited, but immunocompromised
patients are generally more susceptible to infection and therefore might
be at higher risk of becoming infected," he added.

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